Is Indian democracy for the polity and not the people?

Amongst political leaders Narendra Modi seems the best choice. He is seeking to clean up messes, including those of non-performing assets, which he obtained as a legacy, and has taken several other initiatives, including propping up a weakened and neglected defence system.

Yet it is extremely distressing to see the facile ease with which his Finance Minister slipped through an amendment, as noted by senior journalist RN Bhaskar, to the FCRA (Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act) along with two Bills, and 218 amendments without any debate, in 30 minutes.

Equality before law: The FCRA amendment allows for all political parties to escape scrutiny for any foreign donation, retrospectively, for the past 42 years! So, whilst the people are not exempt from scrutiny, the polity is! This is ultra vires the constitution as there is no equality before law, and one hopes the Supreme Court strikes down the amendment. At the same time, 42 NGOs/Trusts, including Amnesty International, and Nasscom are under the FCRA scanner. Is this equality before law? Investigate all. Why should political parties be above the law?

Parliament productivity

The fact that 218 amendments and two Bills were passed in 30 minutes without debate is also indicative of the appallingly poor quality of our polity.

Productivity of both houses of Parliament has been less than 10 per cent. Yet the polity demands, and is given, pay rises, linked to inflation, besides perks. This is inequality before law. Interest on my savings in a bank account (which misuses the money) is not linked to inflation, nor does my boss reward me for doing 10 per cent of my job.

So, is Indian democracy for the polity or for the people?

The average networth of the 63 Rajya Sabha candidates is ₹122 crores! Have they been investigated by the IT Department?

The top six infrastructure projects, including the smart cities project, have spent only 21 per cent of the allocated funds, according to a standing committee report, though the government states a higher figure.

Yet the government has diverted funds from the National Small Savings Foundation to refurbish two VIP jets!. So, funds can be found for VIP private travel, but not for needed infra projects?

Selective application

In the Nirav Modi scam, Section 409 of the IPC has been applied, because funds of public sector banks have been stolen. But though this Section is applicable for all Ponzi schemes, why is it not applied to cases like Sarada, NSEL, Sahara, among others? Is it because it is people’s money and not banks’? Is this equality before law?

Economic headwinds going into the 2019 general elections are not conducive to strong growth. The US Fed raised interest rate by 0.25 per cent and two more raises are expected this year. The trade deficit is up 26 per cent in February. This has pushed India’s CAD to 2 per cent of GDP.

In this background, the retrospective amendment to the FCRA, exempting political parties from scrutiny for foreign donations, smacks of injustice and can cause a ripple in the 2019 elections. It must be withdrawn.

(The writer is India Head — Finance Asia/Haymarket. The views are personal.)

COMMENT NOW